The reading this week focused on gay or lesbian relationships in television today. There are many shows that openly feature gay couples but the shows that do center on those relationships often use gay or lesbian stereotypes. Avila-Saavedra’s article opened my eyes to how many shows do this. For example, Modern Family, Will and Grace, and The Fosters just to name a few. She mentions what Queer Theory is to her, “Queer theory and notions of hegemony applied to issues of gender, race and class provide this article’s conceptual foundation. Using discourse analysis of television shows with leading gay male characters as its method, this study examines the dominant themes in the construction of gay male identity in American television.” (Avila-Saavedra).Her article showed what television shows consider to be a stereotype.
The show I watch more frequently that features a gay couple is Modern Family. The couple is Cam and Mitchell and they do somewhat act like the gay stereotypes we all know in today’s world. Cam is the stereotypical gay man or the “women” in the relationship because he often wears flamboyant clothing and speaks with a feminine undertone. Mitchell is the breadwinner and the “man” of their relationship because he acts more manly compared to Cam. Mitchell also shows less emotions and dresses more conservatively. The thing that the show tries to shy away from the are the typical stereotypes. For example, Cam is heftier than Mitchell and physically stronger and Mitchell is portrayed as weak and small physically. This is a nice change for the show instead of just sticking with the norm of what people today consider to be gay stereotypes. This was a big deal to show a gay couple in a major or starring role in a television show because most shows just use the “gay couple” as reoccurring or secondary characters. One of the other main characters in Modern Family is Mitchell’s father who is a manly and heterosexuality man who accepts his son’s relationship and supports them emotionally as a couple. This was surprising to me because most fathers would be unaccepting of this lifestyle for their sons. The show also makes it socially acceptable for a gay couple to adopt a child and raise it with success despite most Americans stance on this issue. This is such a complex relationship and also a fan favorite on the show. Cam and Mitchell defy the odds of gay couples in television and they are being more and more socially accepted everyday by their viewers.
Avila-Saavedra, Guillermo. Nothing queer about queer television: televised construction of gay masculinities. 3 March 2015. Web.
https://cms.psu.edu/section/default.asp?id=201415SPUP___RCOMM_411_001
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